‘Like in Mahabharata…’: Kejriwal refers to Kauravas in his attack on BJP & CBI

Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the AAP convener, compared the BJP to the Kauravas, the defeated brothers in the epic, and his side as the Pandavas, the victorious heroes of the Mahabharata.

As the BJP vs AAP battle intensified, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday compared the upcoming Gujarat election with "Dharamyudh" like the Mahabharat in which the ruling party - BJP – has the "armies" of probe agencies Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on its side, while his party has the "support of Lord Krishna".

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

Kejriwal, who is also the AAP convener, compared the BJP to the Kauravas, the defeated brothers in the epic, and his side as the Pandavas, the victorious heroes of the Mahabharata.

"This is a Dharamyudh (religious war) like the Mahabharat," Kejriwal said in Gujarat as he narrated the story of how Duryodhan (from Kauravas) and Arjun (from Pandavas) approached Lord Krishna for support before the 18-day war.

Arjun said he wanted Lord Krishna on his side, while Duryodhan sought his army, the CM said.

"Today, these people (a reference to BJP) have all the armies, power, the CBI, the ED (Enforcement Directorate), the Income Tax, police and a lot of money. We have Shree Krishna with us. We have God with us. And in the end truth, God will prevail. God resides in the hearts of people, they are God. They (BJP) may harass us, but people are with us," he said at the town hall organised by the AAP as part of its election campaign.

Read | Sisodia raided: Kejriwal leads AAP pushback on CBI action

Kejriwal further said the people of Gujarat are bearing the brunt of the BJP's arrogance over the last 27 years in the state, and are now yearning for a change , adding the AAP has received immense support from people.

This was the reason why the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the home of Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy, the AAP's national convener further said.

Kejriwal said instead of sending the CBI to Sisodia's home, the central government should have contacted him and requested him to improve the state of schools across the country. They didn't do anything like that. Instead, the CBI will be dispatched to arrest him. "They arrested (Jain) to obstruct work (in the health sector) in Delhi. We shall not cease working in Delhi. It may be slowed for a few days, but it will not cease," he said.

A day after Sisodia's house was raided by CBI on the allegations of corruption in the rollout of a liquor policy, he said the searches were not aimed at eliminating corruption but were meant to be a deterrent to the rise of Arvind Kejriwal.

(With agency inputs)